The Verse
by postapocalypticcerialgirl
Summary: Brittanna, zombies and postapocalyptic misadventures.
1. Chapter 1

A hundred years ago people balked at the discovery of vampires, and we warned you that we could never be the worst of your fears. We tried to warn you. Instead you tried to destroy us. Humanity it was you who forced us to multiply and bolster our numbers. We saw the devastation caused by this plague once before. Our elders warned of a second Dark Age so that we would be ready for it. Humanity will fall, but not by our hand.

The plague started out as a pretty generic plague, people got sick because they got bitten. Then they died, but they didn't stay dead for long. That's how it all started. The media blamed the vamps for a while, but we knew better. Soon the media did too. The first strain was pretty standard, your basic mindless, hungry walkers. But it didn't take long for the virus to adapt. The Zeds, as we called them started getting faster, smarter, deadlier. Their flesh also stopped decaying at a rapid pace, now they maintained their human appearance for just a little longer. The eyes are what got me though, see when a zombie bites you your eyes just go dull until you resurrect and then they're just white, now, now you maintain that spark of life. There is still an illusion of humanity that is maintained within the living dead. Then they started talking and thinking. Motor function returned at an alarming pace so now they are truly a horrific force to be reckoned with. It takes months to change and the original bite heals within minutes. They bite to recruit now. They're known in this age as Reaperz, a breed of truly terrifying mindless cannibals who just don't die all that easily. The Reaperz have taken to using the Zeds to do their dirty work. We refer to them as minions sometimes because that's the function they have taken on. They are just cognoscente enough to follow orders.

Now the world is all but changed. There are Humans, Reapers, Vamps and only god knows what else. The Humans attempt to stay away from the conflict. They're just trying to survive. In this life you're one of three things: running from, being chasing after, or being bitten by one of the two factions. On the bright side if you've been bitten by a Reaper and but haven't changed there is still hope of survival. Go to the Vamps. They can "cure" you… after a fashion… you can still be turned if you haven't crossed over. Better to bathe in blood for an eternity and retain a piece of your former self than become a total cannibalistic monster. Which brings us to the fantastic tale of how I ended up in my current predicament: stuck in a cage, that's chained to the ceiling of a glorified sub basement. Well, if you were wondering, it all started out with a girl. Doesn't it always?

It had been a really long and really bad night already. I was fighting with Asa again. It has always hurt worse to fight with her than anyone else. There were just a few things that we didn't agree on, for example, boundaries, I needed them to function. It seemed that over the past two decades we've grown closer together and drifted farther apart all at the same time. I love her with all of my being, she's my maker. But recently she has become callous and demanding, she's so harsh now. I can only imagine that it has something to do with Bev, her one love. Asa will never admit it but she loves Bev in a way that surpasses all others that I've seen so far. For some reason I think she's still angry about her feelings… don't ask me why. I think it's trivial the way she pretends not to care. The bottom line is that this particular fight had been the worst argument we had ever had, which is how I ended up at Dark Dive.

Dark Dive is a club for Supernatural beings, like me. It's a neutral place where shady deals take place and nobody sees you if you don't want to be seen. It's a safe haven of sorts, no fighting is ever allowed whether it be between Vamp, Reaper, or human. It was also the easiest place to find a quick and willing meal. I have never been a violent being and I detest hunting for sport, but I will take a willing candidate any day. And today I needed a fucking drink. As I passed through the huge gothic arches that served as an entry way I began to make my way through the crowd. It wasn't exactly easy. Even though it was a safe place it wasn't a _safe _place to be. There were raving partiers everywhere flailing to the heavy industrial noise that shook the walls. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this place did have structural damage due to the heavy bass that constantly shook the foundations.

As I reached the "bar", a lineup of adrenaline junkies looking to take a hit of pure stupidity, I felt slightly uneasy. I shrugged it off as I scanned down the line. The music was making my head pound and I was feeling angrier by the second. This evenings fight was grating on my nerves. I couldn't believe half of what Asa had yelled at me before she threw me out, again. I was just about to give up and leave to find my best friend Natlee when I saw _her_. I could feel the waved of pure fear and desperation pouring off her. Even at a fair distance I could feel the sadness radiating from her. She looked like she was going to be sick. She had her head bowed and her long dark hair was all but covering her face. She looked terribly out of place here. She was wore a short red dress that perfectly accented her slight curves. It was a stark contrast to all the leather and spikes that surrounded us. There was no doubt in my mind that she was terrified. I couldn't let her suffer here, or worse let some blood thirsty killer get to her. There was something drastically different about this girl.

I walked over and gently took her hand. The second our skin met a shock ripped through me. It felt like I had been hooked up to a car battery. It was like some magnetic force was holding us together somehow. It almost stung but I couldn't let go. I gently pulled her forward and she began to cry. I quickly scooped her up into my arms as her legs gave out and headed for the roof. She needed air, so did I for that matter, well not really but, space to clear my head was in order. I was as careful as possible as I made our way to the back exits. She was shivering against me and full on sobbing now, her hair was still a tangled mess covering her face. The music seemed to get louder and the crowd pressed in around us. She wrapped her arm around my neck and pulled herself closer to me as people started slamming into us. The club was all becoming too claustrophobic to handle and above all else I just needed to make her safe. I wanted her to be ok. I quickened my pace shoving through the crowd and we eventually found the exit. I pushed the door open and backed into the stairwell. As I carried her up to the roof she seemed to calm down a bit. Her sobs receded and she nestled further into me. We finally reached to top and I walked to the ledge and sat down cradling her in my lap. She was still clinging tightly to me. It was almost as if she couldn't get close enough to me. It seemed like an hour, minutes, days who knows, before she finally pulled away. As she pulled her hair out of her face I swear my heart actually started beating again for an instant. God she was perfect. Her eyes were the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I wanted nothing more than to stare into them for the rest of eternity.

"I'm not going to hurt you", God knows that was the last thing I had ever wanted. She seemed to be in such a fragile state. The way she was shivering scared me. I felt that she would shatter at any moment. She must have thought I was some sort of monster abducting her and carrying her off to the roof to feed on. I started to gently stroke her arm with my fingertips, her skin was so soft. I held her closer to me. All the while I couldn't begin to understand why I was so suddenly and inexplicably comforting a Human. Why was this one so different?

Her breathing was starting to calm down and her sobs slowly receded. So I must have been doing something right. "Please don't be frightened", I reassured her. She needed to know that she was safe. She truly was safe with me. I pressed my lips to her forehead then whispered, "I would never hurt you. You'll always be safe with me, I promise." It was the truest statement I had ever made. In that instant I knew that I would never let anyone or anything ever harm her.

She looked up into my eyes and met my gaze. A silent agreement of some sort passed between us and she nodded in consent. I took her hand in mine and liked our pinkies, that electric current almost shocked me again. I smiled as I held out our linked hands "See", I wiggled our hands gently,"now it's official". I grinned sheepishly at her and she slowly gave me a small pout that turned into the cutest crooked half smile and cocked her eyebrow. "My name's Britt."

"Thank you for getting me out of there" she whispered. "I'm Santana".


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

Santana looked at me with wide eyes. I was so lost as to what to do. "Do you want me to take you home?" I asked. I was hoping that she would say anything other than yes. She looked pensive for the briefest second. Almost as if she was trying to make a very difficult decision.

Her face suddenly lit up and a small fire burned behind her eyes. She had a fierce look of determination. "No." she declared suddenly shifting out of my lap. She stood and faced me. There was a mischievous grin on her face, "You still hungry? That's why we're here right?"

She took a deep breath and steadied herself waiting for my response. When she didn't get one she continued,"Oh… if that's not what you're looking for…" she reached up and seductively started pulling her top lower.

I wore a blank expression. Where had this girl come from? She was suddenly the opposite of the girl I had rescued from the bar. She also confirmed my worst fears that she thought of me as just a monster. "No." was the one word I managed to stammer out. I stood up and walked to her closing the gap between us till our bodies were flush. I reached up and tilted her chin up so that I could see her face. She locked me in an unwavering gaze suddenly very serious.

"Why did you come here?" I asked. It seemed like a simple enough question. I knew that there were only a few reasons that people came to Dark and I didn't like any of them. Santana didn't seem like the girl to get mixed up in any of this mess.

She bit her bottom lip then exhaled. "I don't know. Do I need a reason?" she seemed to deflate a bit more and her shoulders just slumped "I think I just wanted to feel alive while I still can."

Her gaze didn't waver as the words tumbled out of her mouth. "I was bitten by a Reaper three weeks ago. I'm starting to feel different. I wish all of this would just stop. I don't want to join the hoard it's not an existence worth living but I'm not ready to die. Not yet anyways." I took a step back not being prepared for that answer. She was too good for that life. She caught my arm as I tried to turn away. I could feel my heart breaking. I had just found Santana. I didn't even have time to figure what that even meant. "Please" she grasped my hand and linked our pinkies "don't go".

I remembered my vow and stopped in my tracks. I didn't break my promises and my integrity was all I had left. "Ok" I said as I turned back towards her.

I knew there were only two alternatives and they both ended in death. Killing her was never an option that I would take so either she was going to continue to change and join the hoard or I could change her and she could keep some of herself.

"We need to get out of here though. This is not a conversation I want to have here." I knew that if any of the Reapers in the Dive found out her intention that she would have no chance of survival. They don't take what they call "treason" lightly. She was only three weeks into the transformation though, so it was still almost impossible for them to know she had been bitten. I had no clue what I was doing. I had never embraced anyone before. Is that what she even wanted? The thought terrified me and thrilled me all at the same time. But I didn't even know Santana. She was still a mystery to me and I wanted nothing more than to take the time to figure her out.

A light tugging on my hand pulled me out of my reverie. "Where do you want to go?" she asked. "I don't have anywhere anymore. My roommate kicked me out after she found out but I can't blame her. I wasn't ever easy to deal with and now… like this" she bowed her head.

I pulled her into a tight hug "Don't worry, Santana." I smiled at her "We'll figure this out."

I pulled away and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Come with me."

She had never let my pinkie go so I interlaced our fingers as I led her to the fire escape. The last place I wanted to go was back into the club. She looked at me speculatively as we reached the edge where the fire escape was located.

"Don't worry its stable" I reassured her. I slung my leg over the side to stand on the first metal platform and moved back so she could join me. She had a bit of trouble climbing over the ledge because her dress was so tight. She just sat on the ledge instead of hoping down on the platform swinging her legs in front of her. She had beautiful legs my gaze lingered a bit too long. She chuckled when she caught me staring. I quickly brought my attention back to her face. She was grinning at me with a pleased look. I stepped closer and offered her my hand to steady her as she jumped down but instead of jumping down she bent down and pulled me closer. I blushed when she wrapped her arms around my neck. I snaked my arms around her waist and pulled her down onto the platform. She just stood there holding me.

"Thank you again" she whispered into my ear and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I felt the heat rising to my face. I knew I was so red at this point.

I couldn't believe that this girl was able to do this to me. How could a girl who I had known for less than an hour make me feel so protective over her? I wanted to help her. Protect her. It had been such a long time since I had felt this way. I felt like my chest had a ball of light glowing within it filling me with this radiating warmth. This contented feeling of just being here with Santana was wonderful. Being with her was becoming a reason to feel again. She pulled back from our embrace and just stared up at me. Her eyes were searching mine for something…

"Are we going to get going?"

"Hmm?" then I remembered where we were. I released her waist and took her hand I led her to the first ladder, going first to make sure that she didn't fall. At every platform she took every opportunity to make some sort of contact with me, brushing my hand or just standing so close that I forgot where we were or what we were doing. When we were nearly to the bottom I stopped just before I jumped down onto the pavement.

"Let me jump down first. I'll catch you."

She paused; I quickly descended the last few steps and dropped down into the back alley scanning for anything that could cause us trouble. When I knew it was safe I motioned for her to drop down.

"Don't worry I'll catch you. " I grinned. God why was I smiling like an idiot?

"Promise you won't drop me?" she teased.

"I promise."

She climbed to the last step and looked back at me. I nodded and she let go. It was about a ten foot drop to the pavement but I caught her easily. I set her down on her feet and we started down the alley.

As we rounded the corner to the main road I spotted a group of about five Reaperz and quickly pushed us back into the alley hoping that they didn't take notice of us.

"I think we should take a different route."

Santana was quiet now. None of the smiles and coy looks from before graced her face. She looked terrified and with good reason. I turned to face her but she was already pulling me in the other direction.

"Come on." she pleaded.

We reached the other end of the building and I quickly peered out and around the corner to the front of the club. There was a small crowd but I knew they would assume the obvious, that I was just getting takeout. I turned to face her.

"You need to try to play it cool. If you look panicked it could mean trouble for both of us. Ok?"

She looked down and took several deep breaths Santana looked as if she was trying to collect herself. After a few seconds she looked up at me with a cool gaze.

"I'm ready" she said.

At that I took her hand and we started out around the corner. As we neared the group of Sups at the door I felt her grip on my hand tighten but as I looked back at her she seemed to be doing just fine. She looked calm and collected. As we passed them she took a deep breath. As we got further away from the club Santana seemed to relax more.

The walk to my place was a little over a mile from Dark Dive. It was located in the heart of downtown. It wasn't the safest area for a Human to be with the Dive being so close but I didn't have any place else to take her. Once we got to the subterranean complex I would feel much better. Vamps had created apartment complexes of sorts. They were all underground so that daylight was never an issue. The security was great and each den had a thick steel door with several sets of locks. They were created for the purpose of barricading yourself in. it was quite convenient if you wanted to avoid unwanted visitors. I had my own den because I had never been big on community living. It changed you in an uncomfortable way, made you more aggressive and competitive. The more time Vampires spend around each other the less civilized we become towards the rest of the world. We can live peacefully in a group of five though. I had lived that way with Asa, Bev, Natlee, and Sam up until the fights between Asa and I had started. I left to keep the tension to a minimum. I loved my family which was why I had to move out. I didn't want the arguing to destroy us.

As Santana and I approached the sub complex I reached into my pocket for my keycard. Everything here was electronic and keyless. I needed the card for the gate though; the high concrete walls weren't exactly welcoming and discouraged visitors of the Human variety. I swiped the card and immediately we heard the gears of the large iron gate start to turn. The gate only opened far enough to let the two of us pass through then closed with its general ominous clang. I led her to the entry way and entered my password into the keypad. The gate opened and I pulled her along through the underground maze till we reached my den and entered in a second password that opened the door. I pushed it open and walked through the door with Santana on my heels. She had started to fidget the minute we had entered the tunnels. I was actually surprised that it didn't start at the front gate.

She stood awkwardly in the doorway holding her arms. I backtracked and took her once again by the hand leading down into the living area. I had a two couches and a decent amount of space. For some reason I kept it sparse. I had never been a fan of decorating. The walls were bare except for a few vintage black and white photos I had grown attached to.

I sat down on one end of the couch and motioned for her to take a seat. She took the other end and sat with her back to the arm rest and her knees curled up underneath her. She had reverted back to that fragile girl I held on the roof. I knew that if we started any conversation with her in this state it wouldn't end well. She needed to feel comfortable in order to give me the truth.

"Hey" I reached out and placed my hand on her knee "Do you want to get changed? I'll get you some comfortable clothes to change into. You can shower if you'd like."

She nodded a quick yes so I got up and went to find some extra clothes. I walked into my bedroom and started rifling through the clean clothes. I had never kept my room particularly neat and at this moment I regretted it fiercely. I found an extra hoodie and some sweat pants for her then headed back out to the living room. Santana was still curled up on the couch looking rather insecure. I walked up behind the couch and touched her shoulder. She practically jumped off the couch.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." I handed her the clothes and pointed to the bathroom. "Feel free to take a shower and change. It might help you relax a little. We don't have to talk right this instant if you're not feeling up to it ok?"

She nodded quickly and darted off towards the bathroom. I heard the shower come on almost immediately. I decided that this would be a great time to try to clean up a little bit. The place really was a mess. I picked up the clothes in my room and shoved them in the closet and cleaned off my bed. I figured that I would be crashing on the couch tonight. After putting fresh linens on the bed and made sure that things in my room looked decent for her. Having her see my place in this state was a little embarrassing after all.

Changing into comfortable clothes felt good. The black leather jacket, black skinny jeans, and dark makeup had served their purpose earlier in making me look unapproachable but now wasn't the time for that. I ended up washing my face at the kitchen sink because Santana was still in the shower. I wanted to look normal when she came out of the bathroom.

I heard the shower turn off as I pulled my hair into a messy bun. It took a few minutes for Santana to get out of the bathroom and by the time she walked out I had made myself comfortable on the couch.

I was trying not to get nervous. I had never brought a random human, or Vamp, home for that matter. This was new territory for me especially without Natlee or my brother Sam here to censor me from saying the wrong thing. I was hoping that I didn't blow this big time. I've always had an internal filter problem, saying what's on my mind has always been most natural for me even if it does get me in trouble.

Santana walked back around to her side of the sofa, sat down and curled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs. She wasn't looking as terrified as before and I figured that the shower had helped her relax some. Her hair was still wet and it hung loosely over her shoulders. She really was beautiful especially without all the makeup. I could have easily just stared at her all night but we needed to talk.

"How are you feeling now?" I asked.

"Much better" she gave me a small smile. "I'm sorry for the way I acted before, on the roof. I'm so lost right now. I can feel things changing within me and I can't control it." Santana was looking down awkwardly at this point like she had just said something wrong.

"I don't want to be one of them… I don't know what I want. I only have two choices and they both involve me dying. So either way I'm kinda screwed."

She looked oddly at peace with this I was having a hard time comprehending why she was so accepting of her fate. I wasn't accepting it at all. She shouldn't have to feel so trapped. There were other choices for her. There was only one for me. There was never a choice for me but she deserved one.

"How did it happen?" I asked.

I wanted to know. I needed to know that she was just an innocent. Nowadays you find Humans who just want to be something more than cattle. They actively seek the transformation, it doesn't matter which side they end up on, as long as they're no longer on the menu. I couldn't believe for a second that she was one of them.

"Does it really matter?" the bitterness in her tone cut through me.

"Yes. To me it means everything."

I could feel an edge of hostility creeping into my mood and I stiffened. The feelings I haven't felt since the night of my transformation came back.

Anger.

Fear.

Pain.

The way that they tore at my flesh, ripping at my arms and legs. I remember feeling muscle being shredded away from my bone… being eaten alive was something that no one should ever have to remember. Now it was just a haunting vision just on the cusp of reality. I could almost hear the screams of my sister as they murdered her. I should have never made it.

"I never had a choice." The words tasted like acid in my mouth. I still resented the fact that I hadn't died with my sister that day. It was my fault. If anything it should have been her who Asa saved. The animosity was thick in my voice at this point

"What makes you think you deserve one? I didn't get one." I demanded.

She locked my gaze and her face softened. "I'm sorry" it was just a whisper but she reached out and placed her hand on my knee. "I never meant to offend you." The look on her face was one of genuine concern.

I relaxed a little but the memories hadn't come back to me this strongly before, I was still on edge. Yelling at Santana was not how I wanted this conversation to go she needed to understand why her motivation was so important to me. I softened my gaze and sighed as I reached out and took her hand. I just held it in mine rubbing my thumb over her knuckles till I regained my composure.

"I was 26 when I was embraced. That was almost a hundred years ago and I still remember that night vividly. My sister and I were leaving the dance studio I worked at after a late class. There weren't many defenses put in place against the Reaperz back then because the virus was so new. We didn't really know about taking precautions like carrying weapons because the virus hadn't really reached our town. We had only learned of isolated incidents and the government was still denying that there was a problem. My family was so naïve. We believed everything we were hearing on the news. They spoke of slow lumbering hoards and told everyone that the infected were easy to evade. I guess this was about the point when the strain began to mutate and evolve because the creatures that attacked us were fast and vicious."

I realized that my hands had started to shake. This was all getting to be too much for me but I pressed on because it was important. She needed to understand

"We were just leaving the studio and Ashley looked at me and asked if I heard anything. She was always paranoid whenever we had to walk out to the car after dark. She was terrified of the dark. I brushed it off and told her that she was hearing things. The next thing I knew all I was hearing was her screaming and then I was on the ground. There was a terrifying corpse on top of me trying to eat me. I fought him off as best I could but I wasn't strong enough. The pain was unbearable and all I could hear was screaming. I don't even know if it was Ashley's or my own."

I looked up to see the horror struck gaze that Santana had locked me with. Her hand was shaking in my own but I had to continue

"I don't remember much except for the pain. I remember Asa killing them. I don't know how she found us but I was glad she did. I looked around for Ashley and found that I couldn't move there was blood everywhere. I finally saw her… she was gone."

I could feel myself getting emotional at this point. It still hurt. Nothing could ever make it stop. The feeling of loss may have receded over the years but it still stung even now. I could feel the tears flowing down my cheeks but I didn't care.

"Asa found me just before I should have died. She embraced me there in the parking lot. I transformed that night and have never looked back." I shuddered at the thought.

I looked up to find Santana sitting right in front of me I hadn't even noticed that she had gotten so close. She reached up slowly and wiped the tears from my face. The feeling of her warmth against my skin felt almost healing. I let out a long sigh as we relaxed into a comfortable silence.

She was still just holding my cheek in her palm stroking my face gently with her thumb. She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

"I'm so sorry Britt" she whispered, "I didn't mean to get defensive it's just that no one's bothered to talk to me about this. I understand why you wanted me to tell you though."

She dropped her hand from my face and curled up on me and we stretched out on the sofa. She rested her head on my chest when we were fully reclined.

"Is this ok?" she asked once we had gotten comfortable. I wrapped my arms around her as an answer and nuzzled my face into her hair.

"Are you ever going to answer my question?"

I braved to ask after what seemed like an eternity of silence. Santana shifted slightly and looked up at my face.

"I am. I just wanted to make sure you were ok first."

That took me off guard a bit. No one had ever cared enough to ask before. "Yeah, I am. And I'm sorry for yelling at you Santana." She didn't deserve to be yelled at. That was beneath me and felt ashamed for losing it.

"Brittany, you had every right to yell. I was kind of acting like a child back there. This whole feeling of helplessness is new for me. Honestly I don't know why I didn't just tell you. After all, you've saved me at least three times tonight already."

She was smiling sweetly at me. It would have made be breathless if I'd needed to breathe. I knew I had a dopey grin on my face the minute she looked up at me and I didn't even care. She turned and curled back into my chest.

"I was bitten while I was making my last delivery of the night a few weeks ago. It was late and I just wanted to go home but my boss was being an ass and told me that if I didn't make this one last stop on my way home that he would fire me. So I went. It turned out to be a Reaper den. I tried to run back to my bike and get out of there but I was too slow and got bit. I guess karma finally caught up to me. This is payment for my chronic bad attitude towards life."

She shrugged in my arms. How was she so calm about this?

"My roommate kicked me out after I told her what happened. And I've been living out of hotels since then."

"What's the plan now?" I wondered.

"I really don't know. I woke up this morning and decided that I had to do something. I can't go down as a Reaper. That's not who I am. I refuse to be turned into a mindless cannibal. So I need to find away to end it all."

The way she said it was so calm and unwavering. The way she was talking about dying was really starting to unnerve me. At the same time I respected her for having come to that level of acceptance about her death. In three weeks she seemed to have come to a level that I hadn't even come close to in a hundred years. She was truly fearless. She deserved a choice.

"I can turn you. I want to turn you if you'll let me." The words were tumbling out of my mouth. I don't know where they were coming from. I think it was the same place that my earlier promise to her came from. I still wanted to keep her safe. I didn't want her to end.

"You have another choice now." I needed her to know that this wasn't the end.

She sat up and looked at me. She stared down at me and locked me in the most penetrating gaze. She swallowed and took a deep breath I continued before she could speak.

"I made you a promise tonight that I would protect you and keep you safe. By giving you this choice I fulfill my promise. This is a way for me to keep you safe Santana… please let me keep you safe."

My voice broke and I realized that I was tearing up again. I didn't want to lose first beautiful thing that had ever come into my life. I needed to know everything about her. There was something about this girl that I didn't understand. Everything about her was a mystery to me. The only thing I knew was the overwhelming emptiness in my chest had been receding since the moment I first found her. I sat up to face her. She still hadn't made a single move or said anything. I was beginning to think that she was about to shut down completely and bolt. She blinked and looked up at me with a fire in her eyes that almost scared me. Her gaze softened as she leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to mine. My heart melted in that instant. I smiled just as she pulled away and then she spoke the only word I had ever longed to hear:

"Yes"

Later that night I Embraced Santana as my own.


End file.
